The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan has received notification from US authorities about the discovery of a body believed to be a citizen of Kazakhstan. This was announced at a briefing by the official representative of the ministry, Yerlan Zhetibayev. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Diplomats received the information shortly before the press meeting from US competent authorities. The message came amid a large-scale search for 24-year-old Kazakh citizen Aset Kuralbay, who mysteriously disappeared two weeks ago.
"Unfortunately, just before the briefing, we received updated information from our colleagues in the US. In this regard, I would like to inform that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan has received information from US competent authorities about the discovery of a body presumably belonging to a citizen of Kazakhstan," said the official representative of the Kazakh MFA.
24-year-old Kuralbay lived in the Chicago suburb of Ford Heights, Illinois. The young man stopped contacting relatives on June 2, 2026. Starting June 7, his mobile phone became completely unavailable.
The disappearance had signs of suddenness: all his personal documents and bank cards remained untouched in the house where the Kazakh citizen lived. During search operations on June 10, local police managed to find his car, but Kuralbay himself was not in or near the vehicle. Earlier, relatives and compatriots actively circulated search notices on social media.
Currently, the US side is conducting necessary procedures for official identification of the found body and determining the exact cause of death. Kazakh diplomats in the US are in direct contact with police and Kuralbay's relatives. Additional official information will be provided by the Kazakh MFA upon completion of all examinations by US authorities.